Linkibuzz Edition 10

We’ve got some great stories covering numerous topics from around the globe this week.

Our first featured story explores a real estate start-up that is making two very bold promises that few other companies are even willing to match. It is something that could see them dominate that industry, so check that story out.

Our second featured story looks at how one of the main motivators for self-employment for parents in Scotland is to combat expensive childcare costs.

Our third featured story comes from the heart. It’s about a startup worker who battled alcohol abuse and joined a start-up only to find that the alcohol-fuelled culture in the startup industry was a new battle she didn’t expect. It’s a great read that poses many questions and challenges for the startup industry and its attitude towards alcohol consumption.

Our final featured story looks at the four types of people you can hire in your start-up. We’ll just tell you straight up, if you read that post you’ll find out the two types of people you don’t want to hire and the two types of people you do want to hire.

Here is an interesting story about a start-up called Opendoor that is making some very bold promises not often seen in its industry. Opendoor is a real estate start-up that sells homes online. That’s not the interesting part, either.

What makes what Opendoor is doing so fascinating are two bold promises that they are making to their customers that are rarely seen in this industry. The first promise is that they are giving all their customers a 30-day money-back guarantee. So you can buy a house online from their site, move in and if you decide you don’t like it within 30 days of the purchase date, they’ll buy it back from you.

Pretty crazy, don’t you think?

They will also provide each home buyer with a 180-point inspection report. If anything breaks in the house within the first two years, they will pay to fix it. We’re sure that there aren’t too many companies offering two bold promises like that in real estate and we’re sure they’re going to kick up a storm in the next few years.

It’s certainly ambitious and if this story doesn’t teach you a thing or two about good marketing and creating an unforgettable value proposition, then we’re not sure what will.

These are generally the main things that draw people to self-employment and it’s becoming more viable as a legitimate albeit alternative career path for many millennials. However, who would have expected that one of the reasons we’re currently seeing for a rise in self-employment is childcare costs?

According to this article, it’s one of the main reasons why people are turning to self-employment. We know that childcare costs are not always cheap for many people but in Scotland, they are the highest in the UK and now parents there are looking for alternative ways to avoid hefty childcare costs and be there when their children need them.

This way, they can earn an income on their own terms and still look after their children without the childcare costs, therefore saving a bit of extra cash. We always knew that self-employment posed many attractions to different people but who would have thought that mitigating childcare costs would be one of them?

We all know that alcohol does tend to play a role in the lifestyle and work environment of many startups. The facts are that many startups have a bar area, which says it all.

In fact, it’s commonplace and a regular part of startup culture to engage in a light drink while at work during the day, bond with staff and celebrate a glass of bubbly after and important contract has been won by a company. These are all quite common examples at many startups and alcohol tends to be a key part of the industry culture.

However, for some workers, this simply is not a good mix and can be quite a testing experience. This is aptly demonstrated in this story that features Sarah Jane Coffey who joined a startup to get her life back on track after a period of alcohol abuse in her own life.

While joining a startup did help her get her life back on track and allow her to find a bit of fulfillment and meaning again, she was certainly confronted by the alcohol fuelled culture that is common in many startups. It’s an experience she bared all about in a blog post she posted on blogging site Medium.com.

In it, she tells her story, which reveals to every reader an insight into the drinking culture that is prevalent at many start-ups and what it can be like to deal with as someone who has experienced drinking problems.

It’s a confronting but worthy read and perhaps it’s something that the industry as a whole should take note of because it’s the kind of story that can influence attitudes and potentially create some changes.

It’s certainly a must-read post if you’re interested in getting the inside story of the drinking culture that exists within many start-ups today.

Hiring employees is a must and it’s also one of the toughest tasks a CEO must engage in. Hire the right people and you could see them working with you to grow your business at an astronomical rate. Hire the wrong people and it could be a disaster waiting to happen.

In this featured post, CEO Pradeep Soundararajan talks about the four types of people you’re most likely to encounter when hiring for your company.

Type 1: wrong direction, high speed

Type 2: wrong direction, slow speed

Type 3: right direction, high speed

Type 4: right direction, slow speed

The best type of employees Soundararajan talks about are Type 3 employees. He says these are the ones that will help you rapidly grow your business because they get your vision and mission correct from the beginning, and are constantly striving to achieve success.

However, they are the rarest of them all. In the latter part of the post he begins to talk about the attributes of employees who are heading in the right direction and why it’s so hard to find them.

While everything in this post is 100% opinion only, it’s an incredibly interesting perspective he puts on things and it’s one that many startup founders will get a lot of value in and help them with their own hiring process.

Closing

That’s it for this week’s Linkibuzz.

We’ve had another round of great featured stories from around the globe. First, we looked at the i bold promises being made by a real estate startup called Opendoor and how it could potentially revolutionise that industry.

Second, we focused on how unexpectedly, one of the drivers to self-employment for many people according to a survey out of Scotland is rising childcare costs. Self-employment not only mitigates expensive childcare fees but allows parents to be there when their children need them to be.

Our third story focused on a very heartfelt experience by a woman called Sarah Jane Coffey who had battled alcohol abuse in her life and then joined a start-up. However, she quickly realised that alcohol and the startup industry are inextricably linked for good or for worse. It’s a great read and one that is guaranteed to challenge attitudes regarding alcohol and work in that industry.

Lastly, we looked at four types of people you can generally hire to work at a start-up; the ones to avoid and the ones to hire who will rapidly grow your business. It’s compelling reading if you’re about to start hiring new staff for your start-up and gives you something to look out for.

Careers

Other Questions?

Comments

comments

“I don’t want to spend an arm and a leg to get this done.”– Luke, Founder and CEO of Happy Clouds LTD

Luke is founder and CEO of Happy Clouds LTD, a cloud service provider for companies of all sizes. He started this business by himself but shortly after took on a co-founder, Lucy. Luke and Lucy have been working together for a year but have yet to set up a shareholders’ agreement.

They have been bootstrapping Happy Clouds’ growth and so have spent the bare minimum. A year on, the business is generating revenue and as the client base grows, Luke and Lucy need to ensure that their business foundations and customers contracts are bulletproof.

Luke and Lucy are fast-paced – they don’t have time to spend explaining their business model to lawyers, they want someone who can quickly understand what they want and run with it. They also don’t want to spend an arm and a leg to get this done.

Luke and Lucy come to Linkilaw. After getting their initial terms of business set out, they realise they also will need another 3 to 4 contracts in the next 12 months.

PRO MEMBERSHIP

Contracts (drafted by specialist lawyers)

4 contracts

Drafts allowed per contract

3 drafts

Bonus legal advice

Digital only

Priority of service

Over non-members

Speed of contract turnaround

7 working days

Annual business review conference call

Included

£2,500/year or £235/month

“We are scaling up but we want to make sure we get everything updated and in place too.”– Liam, Co-Founder of WineToGo

Liam is the co-founder of WineToGo. His business sources wine from a large network of wine producers and helps their customers select the best wines for their taste to get delivered to their homes. He founded his business with 3 co-founders (Lance, Lily and Larry) and has a shareholders’ agreement in place. The four of them met at university and decided to build their marketplace.

Lance and Larry are passionate about wine and have a background of oenology. Lily is a developer; she built the first platform and collaborated with Liam on business-related matters. They all work in a small office in North London.

After 1.5 years in business, WineToGo features a first selection of 20 UK wine providers and developed its activity in London. However, the business requires funding to expand to the UK (especially Manchester and Birmingham).

Liam and his co-founders are looking towards the future and are happy to get legal advice. They have a focus on investment but also want to explore the possibility of needing future contracts. They plan on having more team members in the near future (business development consultants to prospect wine producers and developers). Liam and his co-founders want to know what to expect and they should have in place for their growing company.

PRO MEMBERSHIP FOR

Contracts (drafted by specialist lawyers)

5 contracts

Drafts allowed per contract

4 drafts

Type of communication

Digital + calls + in-person meetings

Priority of service

Over non-members and digital members

Speed of contract turnaround

5 working days

Annual business review conference call

Included

Bonus legal advice

Unlimited

£7,500/year or £650/month

“My businesses are successful and I want legal services in the long term” – Lynn, Founder of ConsciousDressToImpress.com.

Lynn is a serial entrepreneur who has founded 6 businesses and successfully exited 3 of them. Her sixth and last business is a sustainable fashion brand that retails exclusively online on her website, ConsciousDressToImpress.com.

Lynn is currently generating a stable £4 million a year of revenue and makes between £750,000 and £950,000 of net profit yearly. She really loves being able to bring sustainability and awareness to one of the most polluting and wasteful industries on the market, and now wants to stop building businesses to just focus on this one.

Unlike her previous businesses, Lynn does not want to sell. She wants to stay managing director for the foreseeable future, as ConsciousDressToImpress grants her a job she loves and stable, high income.

Lynn has used Linkilaw previously in her other businesses and loved the work they did for her. It was made easy, accessible, and affordable. She loves being a Linkilaw member because she feels the Linkilaw team is focused on the long-term and on maintaining an honest, professional and friendly relationship with her and her business. Amelie, her dedicated legal point of contact is also a fan of sustainable fashion and loves wearing ConsciousDressToImpress.

PRO MEMBERSHIP

Contracts (drafted by specialist lawyers)

6 contracts

Drafts allowed per contract

3 drafts

Type of communication

Digital + calls

Priority of service

Over non-members and digital members

Speed of contract turnaround

5 working days

Annual business review conference call

Included

Bonus legal advice

30 minutes per contract

£9,000/year or £800/month

“I want a check-up on my contracts and make sure everything is in place.”– Logan, Founder of InvestMap App

Logan created the InvestMap App 5 years ago with one of his long-term colleagues, Lauren. InvestMap is the tool for people who never invested and want to start. Via the app, the consumer learns about how to make wise and long-term beneficial choices; is invited to invest at the right time, and gets updated on the next gold mine.

Logan and Lauren already have a few consultants and their app has been adopted increasingly that it’s now difficult for them to manage their activity with their original team. They now want to implement more structure into InvestMap in order to get more staff and be able to get to the next level.

Logan comes to Linkilaw and expects to review the first contracts that have been drafted when he started his business and get more for his new coming employees. He is very keen on ticking boxes and making sure that InvestMap is secure as it goes on.

It’s been 8 years since Leah created Move.In, selling kits for students moving to another city (including cutlery, first food, sanitary and emergency essentials). Leah started on her own the business but hired 41 employees during these couple of years. She has now 30 employees and operated over the United Kingdom, Germany and France.

With long-term partner contracts who feed her a stable stream of leads, Move.In has established itself as a leader in the market and currently generates over £3 million of yearly revenue. Its growth is also steady (5-10% a month).

Leah is looking for a legal advisor who will take on the role of in-house legal counsel, but without working full-time. She wants to work with someone who knows and understands her business and proposes the most commercially minded decisions. She doesn’t have the budget for full-time legal counsel, but would nevertheless like to have a lawyer she can reach whenever she wants.

Leah was looking for someone who had expertise in both commercial contracts – ensuring she created real win-win situations in her partnerships – and employment – managing employee onboarding documents such as offer letters, employment and option agreements, staff handbook. Leah now works with a dedicated Linkilaw lawyer and is delighted that she is able to work with a senior lawyer at a rate that is significantly under her budget.

PRO MEMBERSHIP

Contracts (drafted by specialist lawyers)

9 contracts

Drafts allowed per contract

2 drafts

Type of communication

Digital + calls + meetings

Priority of service

Over non-members and digital members

Speed of contract turnaround

7 working days

Annual business review conference call

Included

Bonus legal advice

1 hour per contract

£12,800/year or £1,200/month

“I want to get legal work sorted with a moderate budget.”– Lara, App developer

Lara is an app developer who created custom mobile applications for startups. She often works from her clients’ offices to get immediate feedback on her work. When she’s not working from a client’s office, she works from a co-working space or from a local cafe. Her accountant recently told her she should create a business entity for tax and liability purposes.

Lara’s business is already taking off, so she has a moderate budget to spend on getting her legal work sorted. She knows she wants to incorporate her business, write her own terms of business to use with clients (instead of just accepting the terms they provide her with), and make sure her new website has the documents it needs, but she’s not confident in her legal knowledge. She wants access to legal advice for all the small questions that pop-up day-to-day.

Lara loves working with Linkilaw because her dedicated legal point of contact, Gillian, is knowledgeable, responsive and friendly. She likes that Gillian knows and understands her business and long-term goals. The legal solutions Lara receives from Linkilaw are not only accurate, but they are also commercially-minded and thoroughly thought through.

Lara is grateful to have been introduced to Linkilaw by a friend and she now recommends the Linkilaw membership to her clients.

PRO MEMBERSHIP

Contracts (drafted by specialist lawyers)

3 contracts

Drafts allowed per contract

5 drafts

Type of communication

Digital + calls

Priority of service

Over non-members and digital members

Speed of contract turnaround

7 working days

Annual business review conference call

Included

Bonus legal advice

Unlimited

£4,000/year or £350/month

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users of the site. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse the Site and also allows us to improve our Site. Find out more.